Morning business headlines

Monday, July 15, 2013 10:43 AM

Corporate spending stays up as CEOs more optimistic

Orders for capital goods excluding aircraft and military equipment increased 1.5 percent in May, the third consecutive month of gains, reportsBloomberg. Considered an indicator of future business investment, the statistic went up for the third consecutive month, which is the longest such streak since October 2011. Another indicator that chief executive officers are more optimistic about the economy, the Business Roundtable's quarterly outlook index rose to 84.3 in the second quarter, the highest in a year.

Gulf Oil CEO Joe Petrowski onCNBC.comsaid he expects oil prices to drop from $105 a barrel to $50 a barrel by the end of the year, although that won't translate to a return to $2 a gallon gasoline. Oil prices have gone up 20 percent in the past three months, pushing gasoline prices up by an average of 14 cents alone in the past week.